College eating and healthy eating are not always synonymous. I grew up in a very health-conscious and very Italian household. While living in Morgan this year, I have spent a good amount of time in our kitchenette attempting to bring a bit of my mom’s best recipes to Nashville and see what I can come up with on my own. Chicken Francese is a common Italian dish that you can recreate in your dorm room without breaking the bank- either in calories or money! Follow my recipe and tips to find out just how to do it.
What you will need:
– 2 large bowls
– 1 large sauté pan
– 1 large frying pan
– 1 small pot
– 1 spatula
– 1 wooden spoon
Ingredients:
– olive oil
– chicken stock
– Italian seasoning
– Garlic salt
(these are the 4 staple seasonings for pretty much everything I make)
– 3 chicken breasts (most stores sell packs of 3)
– 2 lemons
– 1 bag/carton of spinach
– 1 large onion
– 1 clove of garlic
– 4 eggs
– white wine (you can buy cooking wine at the grocery store regardless of age)
– 1 box of pasta
– 3-4 cups of breadcrumbs
How I did it:
As always, put some oil in the pan (big frying pan) and swirl it around on medium heat. Add the chopped onion (cut in half and then slice). Chop a clove of garlic, and as the onions start to sweat, add some Italian seasoning, garlic salt, and white wine. Remember to check back on this mixture so it doesn’t get too caramelized when you’re working on the chicken. Instead of adding more oil, add chicken stock. It cuts down on the fat content and boosts the flavor.
The chicken should be defrosted, if you remembered to take it out of the freezer before you left that morning. You can pound it for evenness, so it can cook better and in a more timely fashion. Use the two big bowls for the egg wash and breadcrumbs. Egg wash is a combination of egg and water whisked together in a roughly two to one ratio. This allows the breadcrumbs to evenly coat the chicken. Swish the chicken around in the egg wash, then move it to the other bowl to coat it in breadcrumbs. The large sauté pan is for cooking the chicken. Heat olive oil and add a splash of white wine in the pan on medium-high heat. Caution: the white wine might cause very hot splattering! No harm no foul… Cook two pieces of breaded chicken at the same time for about 8-10 min on each side. Remember to keep adding chicken stock to the veggies in the other pan!
Add slices of lemons and spinach to the onions in the other pan. Squeeze lemon over the chicken as well. Put the pasta water in the pot on high heat, flip the chicken, and it’s almost ready!
Once the pasta water begins to boil, add the pasta and cook to your desired level of done-ness. Put the cooked pasta on the bottom of your plate, then some onions and spinach, then chicken, and a lemon on top for the extra presentation point.
Bon appetit!